This makes me think... about God's will...

The will of God is simply what ought to happen in the world He created, what ought to emerge from the interplay of natural forces, and what ought to emerge from man's work, from the freedom of the human spirit, so that the world may come to be what God intended it to be. The will of God is the consummations of the divine creation of which man, with his freedom, is part.


That is in itself inconceivably great. But there is more to it than that: the will of God is what God demands of man; in other words, what He requires of me. It is His will for me, for this individual me, as a member of the human race, and His will for the world through me. 


But there is still more to be said. This will of God does not stand "over" me, "in front of" me, and say, "You must do this or that. You must become this sort of person." God does not give me marching orders. He is a living power ruling within me. The will of God is not merely a claim on me; it is also an active force. It is the special way in which he admonishes, urges, helps, sustains, acts, molds, struggles, overcomes, and perfects -- inside me.


The will of God is the power with which He help me to fulfill His demands. Seen in this light, it has another name: it is the power we call grace. When the will of God is done, it is the gift and achievement of this will itself. It is my work, but mine only through His, His will acting in me, the whole process being a mysterious unity. 


---Romano Guardini, The Living God, Sophia Institute Press

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